From Brooklyn to LA
by JazzyIsSoCoolLike
Summary: Jace Wayland is a U.S. Marshall assigned to take care of Clarissa Fray, a woman who has just witnessed a murder. They move to a safe house in L.A. and try to lay low, only, Jace Wayland doesn't lay low very well. Love or hate, let me know with reviews.
1. Chapter 1

"FRAY! Get you're ass back here!" U.S. Marshall Jace Wayland was growing impatient with the small red head his boss, Maryse Lightwood, had presented him with.

Clary Fray, who was quite stubborn, continued her vicious march toward the elavator. "I appreciate your concern , but I assure you that I'm perfectly fine. I'm sure this Valentino fellow is nobody I can't handle." she said, not turning around to look at him.

Jace groaned and grabbed Clary's arm, roughly spinning her around. He held her steady and looked into her bright green eyes intensely.

"Clarissa," He began, Clary could tell he was struggling to keep his voice even, "Valentino has killed 13 men in the past 2 months without a soul witness. He will do anything and everything to get his hands on the one person who has the power to bring him in. Guess what? That person is you. You witnessed a murder, Clarissa. If you don't come with me to the safe house in L.A., then you and everyone you have contact with will be in grave danger."

Clary's mind wandered to his best friend, Simon Lewis. He was getting married in 3 months and Clary was his best woman. They'd known eachother practically all of their lives. The thought of any harm coming to him... And especially before he got married to the love of his life...Then there was her mother Jocelyn and her stepfather Luke, the people she loved more than anything. She looked into U.S. Marshall Jace Wayland's stern golden eyes.

"How long will I be gone? Can I tell anyone?" she asked, sighing in defeat.

"You'll be gone for however long it takes to catch Valentino. That'll be about a month and two weeks. You can't tell anyone your leaving, but after we put away Valentino you can explain everything." he said, still holding her shoulders firmly.

"Okay," said Clary, accepting defeat, "I'll do it." Wayland let out a barely audible sigh of what Clary assumed to be relief, and loosened his grip on her arms.

"Great. First matter of business, stop calling me Mr. Wayland. My name is Jace. Now the deal is we'll head to a registered safe house in Los Angeles, California. There, you will be living under an alias with, you guessed it, yours truly." Detective Wayland said with a wry smile. Clary rolled her eyes, but nodded.

"-" she stopped, remembering the Marshall's request to call him by his first name "Jace," She corrected and breathed a heavy sigh, Jace raised his eyebrows, "Can I call someone? I won't tell him anything, I just need to hear his voice before..." She trailed off, blinking her eyes rapidly to cease the expected tear flow.

Jace stared at her for a while, and groaned throwing his head back. He fished a cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. "You're lucky your cute, Fray."

Clary ignored the compliment and punched in Simon's number. After just a couple rings, he picked up.

"Hello?" The sound of his voice soothed her.

"Hey, It's me."

"Clary! Hey, what's up? I haven't heard from you for the past day or so." Clary could hear the chattering in the background.

"Oh, I was just really busy. Listen, Simon, I just... Called to say hi, and see how you were doing..." Clary wanted so badly to tell him everything. Tell him about L.A. Tell him about Detective Wayland. Tell him about the look on her neighboor Dorthea's face right before she was killed.

"Okay, well, hi!" He said, the confusion evident in his voice.

"Hi," she managed a small chuckle, "So, how's Isabelle? Still suffering from bride-zilla syndrome?" Isabelle Lewis was Simon's soon to be wife.

Clary heard Simon chuckle on the other end, "Oh yeah. She didn't eat for 2 days out of fear she wouldn't fit into her wedding dress."

Clary rolled her eyes, Izzy was a twig. "No kidding. Have you guys started on your vows yet?"

"Not yet, we were just heading out to Izzy's family church to talk the minister that baptized her." Simon's tone was a little rushed, and she could tell Isabelle was pressuring him to leave.

"Oh, then you should go. Talk to you later, 'kay?" she said, suddenly painfully aware this was the last time she'd hear her best friends voice in weeks.

"Okay! See ya Clary, Love you!" his cheerful tone made Clary want to cry.

"Love you too, Simon." She said, and pressed the END button on Jace's cell. She looked up to see him standing in the frame of the door.

"I just picked up your new identity, ready to meet our persona's for the next 2 months?" He asked, waving 2 ID's in the air. Clary only nodded.

Jace saw her somber expression, but dismissed it with an attempt to make her laugh,"Okay, I'll be Drake Malfoy and you'll be Rena Weasly."

Oh goodness, Ginger was going to be a very long month and two weeks.

"Just kidding. I'm going to be Xander Singer and you'll be Victoria Rice. We're cousins who came to L.A. in hopes of starting an art business. Our safe house is a studio apartment next to the beach. I'll fill you in on the rest of your background during the flight." In 2 long strides Jace was out of the doorway and pushing Clary firmly a door on the other side of the room that led out the lobby of the NYPD.

"Wait," Clary said, gently wrestling her arm out of Jace's, "I have questions."

Jace sighed, "Of course you do. Make it quick."

"Fine." Clary began to mentally shorten the list of the 20 questions she'd been planning to ask him,"Okay, first question: Why L.A.? Why not somewhere more secluded... like the mountains or something?"

Jace smiled, "You've been watching to many spy films. We'll blend in L.A. There are almost as many wierdos there than there are here, in New York. Nobody's going to pay attention to a couple of kids trying to sell some art."

Clary nodded, "Understandable. Okay, next question: Who is going to believe we're cousins? We look nothing alike."

A grin crept its way onto Jace's face, "You rather we'd be a couple on their honeymoon, Fray?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows. Despite herself, color rose to Clary's cheeks.

"Your insufferable." Clary sputtered.

"I'm charming." he said with a quick wink, "Now. No more questions. Our flight leaves in 2 hours and I want to stop for coffe."

Clary blinked her eyes in disbelief, "Two hours? Thats not nearly enough time for me to go home and pack an put away the paints I left out and turn off the heat and-"

Jace cut her off, "No time for all that. The more time we stay here, the more of a window of oppurtunity we present to Valentine to kill you. You can buy some new clothes in L.A. and I'll tell my boss Maryse to send someone over to your place to clean up." And with that he grabbed Clary's arm and yanked her out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay or chapter 2! Woot, woot! I'm glad you guys liked the idea. I was itching to write it for a while, but couldn't bring myself to sit down and get it on paper. Honestly, I hate this chapter, but whatever. Maybe you'll like it… I dunno….**

**Disclaimer: I wish I had a name as cool as Cassandra Clare. Couldn't you just say it over and over and over? Cassandra Clare, Cassandra Clare, Cassandra Clare, Cassandra Clare…**

"Your parents were divorced and your mother had custody and you both lived on the Upper East Side for all of your childhood..."

Clary tuned out again as Jace rattled on about her cover. He'd been going on like this for the past 2 hours. Clary had hoped they'd be in California by now.

"... Your childhood pet was a dog named Sparky-"

"Ladies and gentlemen we've now started our descent. Please make sure your tray tables are up and your seats are in the upright position. All electronics must be turned off at this time. We've enjoyed flying with you and we hope to see you again." the P.A. announced over the intercom. Clary let out a sigh of relief, Jace's De-not-so-brief was finally over.

"Fasten your seatbelt." Clary said gesturing to Jace's unfastened buckle.

Jace smirked, "Staring at my crotch are we now?" Clary flushed up to the roots of her hair. That shut her up.

"What are you, eight?" she snapped. Jace merely smiled.

"I'm not inclined to resign to maturity." **(I am in love with phsyc. Shawn Spencer forever!) **

Clary fought off an eye roll. She pulled up the window shade; this was her absolute FAVORITE part of flying. Seeing the lights of the city shine while they descended. A smile rose to her face as she saw the bright displays of several casinos and hotels.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Jace said, peering over Clary's shoulder. Clary turned to him and nodded.

"I, for one, don't see beauty in nature. I see it in what we've built, what we've accomplished ourselves. Not something someone else gave to us."

Clary raised an eyebrow at this, "That was deep. U.S. Marshall by day, tortured poet by night."

Jace chuckled, "That's me." he said. She took a moment to really look at him. He was beautiful, she had to admit. Golden eyes, Golden hair, Golden skin. He looked like an angel. That is, until he opened his mouth.

A jolt went through her as the plane hit solid ground. She reached under the seat in front of her and grabbed her purse. Jace straightened up and cracked his back.

"Ugh, that's so gross." said Clary. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was back cracking. Or any bone cracking at all, for that matter.

Jace grinned when she said this, and proceeded to crack his neck, fingers, and wrists. All while Clary made a face as if she smelled something bad.

"You're annoying." Clary said, unable to think of any other adjectives. She'd used them all on Jace before.

"You're smitten." said Jace with a grin; she noticed he had a chipped tooth. Good, at least he was all too perfect.

"Excuse me?" Clary asked just as the plane stopped and the lights switched on in the cabin. Clary took this opportunity to get up and stretch. Jace took this opportunity to admire the strip of milky white skin that showed itself when she stretched. Clary failed to notice this.

Jace grabbed his briefcase and stepped out into the isle. Clary followed and immediately started her rapid fire questions.

"Who's Alec? Is he your friend? Is he a Marshall too? Where's our apartment? When am I going shopping for new clothes? Is Ale-"

"Shut up. Your giving me a headache." Jace snapped.

"Why do you insist on keeping me in the dark?" Clary retorted.

"I've told you everything you need to know." That was all Jace said.

Finally they were off the plane and in the terminal where Alec would be picking them up. Only problem was, Alec wasn't there. Jace turned to Clary to make conversation.

"So, do like to paint?" he asked lamely. Clary was silent. She was still pouting because Jace told her to shut up.

"Silent treatment, huh? Fine, fine." And she accused HIM of not acting his age.

After about 15 more minutes of silence Jace could barely stand it.

"Fine, fine. Alec is my best friend as well as a Marshall. Our apartment is in the city, about 3 blocks away from the beach. You'll get your new clothes tomorrow. When I was 7 I had a cat named Church. Happy?"

"Thanks." she said stiffly. Jace held back a groan. He had little to no patience with stubborn people. Heck, he had little to no patience period.

Suddenly a sleek yellow sports car drove up to the curb, the window rolled down to reveal a handsome dark haired boy. He had intense blue eyes and pale skin, his posture relaxed when he saw Jace. Clary noticed Jace's grin upon seeing his best friend.

"Xander!" Alec said as he got out of the mustang. Clary had almost forgotten about her cover.

"Hey man!" Jace said as they shared a quick man hug. Alec turned to Clary.

"You must be Victoria!" he said, hugging her as well. She was a little startled and she awkwardly patted his back.

Suddenly she heard him whisper in her ear, "You need to start embracing your cover now. We got a tip that Valentino may have a couple men down here." Clary nodded as Alec pulled away.

"Welcome to L.A. guys!" he said throwing up his hands.

Alec helped Clary into the small backseat of the mustang and Jace rode in the passenger's side.

"I got shotgun!" Jace taunted looking over the shoulder of the seat. Clary stuck her tongue out at him.

"It's really good to see you, man!" Alec said clapping Jace on the back.

Jace turned to Alec, "Yeah. I missed you!" Clary detected Jace's jaw tighten and wondered what that was all about.

"So, uh, what do you think about this airport? Really nice finish on the glass, right? Especially the doors." Alec said with a too big smile. Jace's golden eyes darted to the door of the airport and back so quickly it looked as if he hadn't even done it in the first place. Clary stole a glance at the airport exit and saw 2 burly men in black suits eyeing the mustang. Fear coursed through there, and she ducked lower in the back seat.

"Well, we better get going. Want to get a good nights sleep, we got a big day tomorrow." Alec said with that same cheesy smile.

Jace almost imperceptibly nodded his head as Alec stepped into the car. "Hold on tight." He said with a grin, and floored it out of the airport.

Clary grabbed the handle on the roof of the car. Only able to grasp one coherent thought.

"_How had they found us?"_

**Oooohhh! Cliffy! Sorry for not updating. Power outage=No laptop. Yeah, sucks. So, should Alec be gay in this or not? I love Magnus to death and everything but I don't really know how to incorporate him into this… Tell me your opinion with reviews.**

**-Jaz**


	3. Chapter 3

**HEYYY! Oh my gods guys, I am SOSOSOSO sorry that I haven't been updating. My wifi was down FOREVER. It was torture. Anyway, this chapter is super short, and kind of fillerish and I sort of hated it. Oh well. I'm sorry for it's terribleness. The next one will be MUCHMUCH longer. I promise. I'm just trying to get back in the swing of things with this chapter. I made it in Clary's POV. I was kind of feeling it...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the mortal instruments characters.**

"How the hell did they find us?" Jace asked, voicing my thoughts.

"Did you book your tickets in Alias's? Did you make sure not to leave a paper trail? " Alec drilled Jace through clenched teeth, he was clearly angry.

"Yes, yes, I did! It doesn't make any sense." Said Jace, slamming his hands on the dashboard causing me to jump.

"Alright," said Alec, struggling to keep his voice even, "We'll just have to be very, very careful. Thankfully, as soon as Clary called in the murder we had people on the scene. Valentino will have only his memory to work with. He was in a rush to get out of the crime scene, so his mental images of Clary should be fuzzy. He'll only remember the basics; hair color, eye color. We'll be fine. We will be fine." It sounded as if Alec was reassuring himself instead of reassuring me and Jace.

All of us sat in tension filled silence until Jace cleared his throat and spoke.

"So, uh, where are Clary and I going to get our new wardrobes?" Jace asked Alec. I'm pretty sure he didn't care, he just wanted to stop the akward silence.

Strangely enough, Alec began to blush. I pondered this while he replied.

"I, uh, know a guy. His name is Magnus. He's... a friend." Alec said, and blushed an even deeper red at the word friend. Jace raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. Needless to say, I was very confused.

More silence. After a while sleep grabbed hold of me and pulled me under.

"Clary."

"Clary, wake up."

"Clary! Wake up!"

I groaned, hoping if I ignored who was trying to disrupt my beauty rest would go away if I just ignored them. No such luck.

"Whaat?" I said into my pillow. Wait, pillow? I distinctly remembered falling asleep in the car last night... How did I get in a bed?

"Jace?" I said forcing my eyes open. A couple blinks and they'd adjusted to the morning brightness and revealed Jace's way-to-perfect-for-this-early-in-the-morning face.

"How did I get in a bed?" I asked, my voice still thick from hours of unuse. I got up and attempted to stretch out the kinks in my back from sleeping on Alec's uncomfortable car seat.

Jace's cheeks took on a pinkish tint. "Well you fell asleep in the car... And it'd been a long day... And you looked so peaceful..." He flushed full on red on that one. It gave me great pleasure.

"Thanks Wayland." I said, "Now why the hell did you wake me up at this ungodly hour?"

Jace grinned, displaying a small chipped tooth that should've hindered his good looks, yet I found it rather endearing.

"We're going shopping."

**Yeah, yeah. Crappy place to end it. FLAME ME. I'm begging you. I must be punished for this monstrosity. THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE BETTER! I PROMISE!**

**-Jaz**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I had this sitting on my laptop for a while and decided to pull it out and change the characters names to fit the story. It's all about Magnus and the buying of the clothes. It's cute and fluffy, but there's a bit of a shock at the end. I enjoyed writing it (:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mortal Instruments dum-dum's**

"So... Here we are." Alec said, gesturing to a rather large store with glass windows displaying manequins adorned in flashy and colorful clothing. The brass plate that hung just above the large double doors read, "BOLD, BANE, & BEAUTIFUL"

"Wow... It's big..." I said. I had been expecting a smaller shop that was cute and affordable... This looked like a department store.

"That's what she said." I heard Jace say from the backseat. I resisted the strong urge to roll my eyes.

"Well, Magnus beat us here," Alec said, gesturing to a red ferrari parked on the curb. "So we better head in. Best not to keep him waiting."

I nodded and pushed open the car door, following Alec into the store.

"Magnus!" yelled Alec, his deep voice echoing in the large, empty store.

"Over here, doll." A male voice that I assumed was Magnus yelled back from somewhere across the room. Alec motioned for me to follow him as he walked to where the voice was emanating from.

I followed Alec into a small office that had the words "Magnus Bane" printed in large black letters. At first glance, Magnus Bane looked a little like an alien. Upon closer examination you would realize it was really just his eyes that threw you off. The were shaped like cats eyes, and were a little unnerving for the first moments you looked at him. Then, after the intial shock wore off, you realized he was rather attractive, really. At the moment he had a red muscle t-shirt on with a white scarf wrapped around his neck, he also wore dark gray skinny jeans. His shoes were converse the same color as his shirt.

"Alexander, love! I wasn't expecting you this soon.." He said, greeting Alec with a large grin, displaying a set of perfect white teeth.

"Oh, uh," Alec blushed, even though Magnus had said nothing that was blush-worthy, "Well, we can come back later. .. If its inconvie-"

Magnus cut off Alec, "Oh no! It's no trouble." Magnus walked around from behind the desk toward me. He stared at me, analyzing every inch of my profile. I blushed and lowered my gaze. I felt a bit like a sample under a microscope.

"Well," Magnus said finally, "You're absolutely gorgeous,dear. However I can see why Alec thinks you need a bit of a wardrobe change up. Your clothes do nothing for your beauty." I did my best not to be offended my this. It was part of my cover. Alec had told Magnus that moving to L.A. I wanted to develop a whole new me.. This included an entirely new wardrobe.

"My, my, my. Aren't you delicious?" Magnus's voice interrupted my thoughts. I grinned, realizing he was adressing Jace, who looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Magnus, lay off him. He's way to straight to be gay." Alec said, managing a thin smile.

"Your gay?" I blurted out, then immeadiatley covered my mouth with my hand, embarassed.

Magnus whipped around to face me again with his eyebrows raised, "Well of course I'm gay! Why else would I be dating-" A cough interrupted Magnus's words. After a moment, I realized it had come from Alec.

"Anyway, yes, I'm gay." Magnus continued, completely disregarding his last sentence. His voice sounded slightly flat, as if slightly disapointed with something. Needless to say, I was quite confused.

"And I'M not. Just for further clarification." Jace said, and Magnus pouted.

"To bad." He said giving Jace another once-over.

"Oh give up Magnus. He's been with more girls than french fries at a fast food place." Alec's tone was slightly playful, but there was something different in his voice... wistfullness? No, that didn't make sense.

"Fine, fine." Magnus said with a wave of his hand.

"Alright. Victoria, is it?" Magnus said, turning to me.

"Yup." I said, trying not to think about his previous insults to my clothing.

"Let's make you beautiful." Magnus said grabbing my hand and pulling me out into the store.

Through the next hour I tried on more clothes than I'd ever tried on in my entire life. Magnus had tried to make me goth, which didn't work. It clashed with my red hair, apparently. Then we'd tried classic, old fashioned styles. That didn't work either. I wasn't uppity enough. We'd also gone through surfer chick (the yellows didn't go well with my eyes) Popular chick in yoga pants that cost more than your house, (I was so small that the yoga pants just looked like regular sweats on me), and sporty girl (Sweatshirts looked like shapeless bags on me).

"My goodness Tori, you're one tough nut to crack. Never fear though, we're not done just yet." Magnus said. Somewhere around "Popular Chick" he'd started shortening my name to Tori. I liked it.

"How long is this going to take." Jace groaned. He'd been shuffling around the store, watching me model and making his normal snide remarks about how ugly I'd looked in half the clothes. Most of the time he'd just spent idly chatting with Alec about sports or brands of beer or other generic guy stuff.

"I've got it!" Magnus said snapping his fingers, "I'm a genius. Really, I am." he said. Heading over to the several silver racks of clothing. "Bohemian. It's perfect. Your small frame will work just fine with the flexible clothes, your hair and eyes will look perfect with the earth tones." With each word he grabbed another piece of clothing of the rack.

"Bohemian?" I asked, so far, Magnus hadn't brought up a single look I hadn't seen or heard of. This one, however, sounded familliar.

"Bohemian is stylish yet comfortable. It displays natural colors and the occasional pale easter colors. Kind of like what Zooey Deschanel wears." Magnus said thrusting the pile of clothes at me.

"Try on a couple." He said plopping himself down in the seat next to Alec, causing Alec to blush AGAIN. I ignored this and shifted through the clothes Magnus presented me with. Finally, I decided on a simple green and brown dress with a belt that looped just below the breasts. I went behind the screen Magnus had set up for me and changed into the garment swiftly, pairing it with the gladiator sandals he'd had handed me. Looking into the mirror, I had to admit it looked nice.

"Tori! Done yet, love?" Magnus yelled from the other side of the screen. I pulled my eyes away from my reflection and walked out from behind the screen.

"Oh. It's too perfect. I've really outdone myself. Twirl, darling, twirl." Magnus said making a spinning notion with his finger. I giggled and spun in a circle.

"Gorgeous." He said, with a large smile. "I'll send over the rest of the clothes to your apartment tommorrow. Including pajamas. For now, just take the clothes I've pulled off our immeadiate rack." He said, pointing to the large pile of clothing that Alec was now loading into white bags that said "Bold, Bane, and Beautiful" in gray lettering.

"Thank you, so very much. I've had a lot more fun that I thought I would." I said, and it was true. Even when Magnus had been insulting me, I had enjoyed having his attention. He was like the popular girl in middle school. You wanted to hate her, but in the end you loved her friendship.

"Xander?" Alec said, using Jace's cover wich I'd almost forgottent he name of. "I think I'm going to take Tori back to the apartment for lunch. You'll be okay here alone?" He said, still loading my clothes into the bags.

Jace nervously glanced at Magnus, who rolled his eyes. "Oh please," he said, "I'll be a good boy."

I laughed at that, and Alec cracked a small smile.

"I'll be fine." Jace said, though a small element of nervousness still hung in his tone.

"Let's head out." Alec said gesturing to the doors. I moved over to help him with the bags and we ventured out to the car. I was about to step into the warm leather seats when I heard an unmistakably familliar voice coming from a couple feet away.

"Clary?"

It was Simon.

**Oooooh! Cliffy. Yeah, I'm a bitch. I know. My update will be fast though! Hopefully... hehe...**

**-Jaz**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! These rapidemente updates are makeup for all that time I missed. Think of them as little apology gifts. I hope you enjoy (:**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN MORTAL INSTRUMENTS.**

"Simon?"

I was positively in shock. Where was Izzy? How did he know where to find me? Had my cover just been blown by that one little word?

"Woah, woah, woah. Who's this guy? You know him, Victoria?" Asked Alec from behind me. I had forgotten he was there.

"Victoria?" Simon said, a confused look crossing his face, "Her name is-"

"Victoria. My name is Victoria." I cut Simon off quickly. I needed to remain what little of my cover still exsisted.

"Let's take this in the car. I don't want to have this conversation out in the open." Alec said, pulling me into the Mustang. Simon shot me a confused look, but got in the car as well.

"Simon!" I whisper-yelled once we were safely inside the car with the door shut and locked.

"No, I get to ask the questions first." He said holding his hands up, "You disapear on me with no notice at all, and when I finally locate you, you're in L.A. with some guy and your having an identity crisis!" his voice had a harsh, angry tone. It was very un-Simon like. It shocked me into silence.

"Spill. Why am I calling you Victoria?" he asked. I bit my lip and looked at Alec.

"Who is he?" Alec asked calmly.

"He's my best friend. I called him before I left and-" I stopped when Alec threw me a dissaproving look, "No! I didn't tell him where we were going! I didn't even say I'd be leaving for a while." I explained. Alec looked at me for a while, then turned towards the back seat and looked at Simon.

"Do you... have a trace on her cell, or something?" Alec asked with raised eyebrows.

"No! Thats wierd.. and... and... creepy. My fiance, Izzy, her friend Aline came over earlier today. They were going through pictures on Izzy's phone and one of them was a picture of her and Cl-... " There was a long pause where Simon just looked at me. His eyebrows were drawn together in concern, and in that moment I just wanted to throw my arms around him and cry. Before I could, he started talking again. "...Victoria. When Izzy explained that Victoria was my best friend she was confused, and asked why I'd be missing the wedding. See, Aline works as a flight attendant and saw you board the plane to L.A. I flew down here just to find out if you were in trouble.. Or mad at me..." Simon trailed off.

After he'd finished his explanation, Alec scrunched his eyebrows together and said, "How did you know we'd be on this street at this time?"

Simon shrugged his shoulders. "Luck of the draw. I was looking for something on Rodeo Drive as an 'I'm sorry I left the day we were scheduled to write our vows' present for Izzy."

"He could be a spy for Valentino. I have to take him back for questioning at the L.A. branch of our office." Alec's tone was serious.

"What?" Simon and I both said at the same time, we'd been doing that since we were 8.

"No. Simon's been my best friend for years, Alec. That's longer than I've known you, or Jace. I trust him with my life."

"Yeah, Clary? Well I don't trust him with your life. If you need to think of it as a formality, then do. We just need to run a couple of lie detectors and one interrogation. It's protocol." Alec said as he jammed the key in the ignition and started the car.

"Alec!" I started, but Alec shot me a look. In a way, I sort of understood. He couldn't trust anyone, at this point. Especially some guy who he just met moments earlier. I didn't like it, but I understood.

Simon stayed silent on the way back to the apartment. Alec was dropping me off there before he to Simon down to HQ. We pulled up in the driveway of the apartment and Alec handed me the key. His blue eyes looked tired, like he was carrying the weight of the world. I opened my mouth to say something about this, but then closed it and offered him a small smile. I was pleased when he returned it.

"Clary?" Simon said. I turned to the back seat and looked at him. "I don't know what your messed up in. But... Whatever it is, I'm here. Okay? I'm always here." He said tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. My eyes began to water, and I leaned back and gave him a hug.

"I love you, Simon." I said into his shoulder.

"Love you to." I could hear the thick emotion in his voice. Alec coughed. Reluctantly I pulled away and gave Simon one last reassuring look and made my way up to the apartment.

_"No! Please! Don't shoot! Just, don't!" Yelled Dorthea, curls of dark brown hair had escaped her turban. A man in a black suit pointed a gun at her._

_"I don't deal with Valentino! That's Marcus's job, please! Do-" her voice was cut off by the harsh sound of the bang. _

_I could only stand there. In the corridor. Frozen. I heard someone screaming. I realized it was me. The man in the black suit turned to me. The gun now facing me. I wanted to speak, but I couldn't. I wanted to run, but my feet were stuck to the ground. _

_BANG!_

I woke up screaming.

"Clary! Clary, calm down! Clary calm down, it was just a dream." I opened my eyes to see who was talking.

The voice belonged to Jace. He was holding down my arms. I realized I was thrashing violently.

"Clary, breathe. In and out. It was just a dream." Jace's golden eyes were looking at me with a very raw emotion. It might've been concern or pity or both. I touched my cheek, and to my complete horror, I realized it was wet with tears. I was crying.

"No, Jace. It wasn't a dream! That actually happened! Dorthea's dead, and I could've stopped it! I could've done something! I could.. could.." I broke down in sobs, letting out the sobs I'd been holding in since Brooklyn. I felt a strong pair of arms wrap around me and hold me tightly. I realized this was Jace. I tensed at this, then just relaxed. I was too weak to fight it.

"There is nothing you could've done, Clary. If you'd tried, I'd have 2 dead bodies on my hands instead of one." He said into my hair. His voice was soft and gentle. 2 thing I did not associate with Jace Wayland.

"I was weak. I should've tried." I said into his chest, my sobs slowly quieted.

"You aren't weak. You are one of the strongest witnesses I've dealt with. You wanted to stay, and you left only when I said by staying you'd put your family in danger. You're selfless, wich is the much better than being brave." He stroked my hair as he said this.

I didn't speak until my tear flow completely stopped. Then, I was acutely aware of how close Jace and I were. I was practically in his lap. I breathed in. He smelled like apples. His shirt was wet from my tears. Then suddenly, in this intimate moment I was sharing with a very attractive man...

I had to pee.

I gently disentangled myself from his arms and sniffed, embarassed.

"Thanks for... Dealing with that." I said, giving him a watery smile.

"No problem, Fray." he said returning my smile with a much more charming version of my own.

As I headed to the bathroom, I couldn't help but think about one thing. When I gotten up, I'd seen tears in Jace's eyes as well.

**I'm kinda digging these endings. They keep me motivated (:**

**Well, them and reviews. BTW, favoriters who don't review irk me. Don't irk me.**

**-Jaz**


	6. Chapter 6

**SORRY!**

**I'm really sorry for leaving you guys hanging again, I got a little caught up with my One Direction fanfic (which ya'll should go read btw). I know my updates are not steady or frequent, and sometimes I need that extra push (thank you catefairchildx) But here is a new chapter! Hope you love it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mortal Instruments.**

"Clary?" I heard Simon's voice from my bedroom.

"Simon! In here!" I called. I would get up to greet him, but Magnus had slipped in some new nail polish along with the clothes and I had been just DYING to try it out.

After a moment the door creaked open, and I found Simon standing in the door frame with a look I didn't quite recognize on his face. I knew Alec had told him about Valentino and my cover and the whole shabang, and even after knowing Simon for 14 years I didn't know how he would take it.

"So.. You know? Everything?" I said cautiously. I knew I was sailing on uncharted waters here. He nodded slowly.

"And... Are you, like, okay with it.. and stuff?" I said lamely, knowing how idiotic I sounded.

He was silent for a couple painstakingly long seconds. "I don't know whether to punch you in the face for not telling me... Or give you a big hug because of what your going through..." he said finally.

Relief flooded through me. He wasn't TOO angry with me. He was still joking... Or, at least I think he's joking...

"How about that, hug? I don't think you want to be a classified wife-beater, hmm?" I said stretching my arms out and giving him my best puppy face. He rolled his eyes.

"You'd think you would have come up with something better than the puppy dog face. I mean, you've been using that one since we were 6." He said, but bent into my outstretched arms anyway.

"I was really just worried, Clary." He said into my hair, "More than anything, just worried."

"I know. I so badly wanted to tell you." I insisted. And it was true, I had wanted more than anything to tell Simon what had happened. He was the only one who really understood me.

"But you couldn't. I understand that." He pulled away from me, and gave me a small smile. I returned it, gratefully.

"Izzy.. The wedding... She's going to be PISSED." I bit my lip in worry. Izzy was a real sweetheart, but she really didn't like when things didn't go her way.

"I know," he said with a small sigh, "That's why I'm leaving tomorrow."

I tried to hide the disapointment from showing on my face. I had hoped Simon might be able to stay a while, which was incredibly foolish. I mean, the man was getting married in a month and had a bride-zilla for a wife. But I'd still hoped.

"Good." I said with a forced smile, and he gave me a look. "Well, I'll miss you.. But Izzy will kill you if you stay any longer."

"Alec is going to give you a burn phone you can call me with if we need to converse. Somehow, I think he understands the whole "best friends" thing." Simon said, holding up what looked like a REALLY old Nokia.

The reason Alec understood the "best friends thing" was undoubtedly because of Jace. I could see the way they looked at eachother and could have an entire conversation without saying a word, and I just sit there in the awkward silence wishing I had a partner to mind speak with.

"I wish..." I trailed off, staring at one spot, trying to stop the impending tear flow.

"Heyyy" Simon said, wrapping his arms around me in a hug, "It'll be okay." he whispered into my hair. I nodded against his chest. We sat like that for a while, with him just holding me. This is what I'd missed these past couple days. Suddenly, an awkward cough came from the doorway. Both our heads shot up to see Alec standing in the doorframe.

"Dinner time." he said, and nodded his head toward the kitchen. He promptly walked away, and Simon chuckled.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"You haven't figured it out yet?" Simon asked, surprised.

"Figured what out?" I asked, confused. I mean, I knew there was something different about Alec, I just... Couldn't quite put my finger on it...

"Oh, well, if you don't already know I'm not going to tell you. He probably wants it a secret." Simon said, shrugging and getting up.

"Well, thanks! So are you Alec and buddies now?" I asked teasingly.

He rolled his eyes, "You are WAY too sensitive."

We made our way to the kitchen, where Alec stood behind the counter. I scanned the room for Jace, he was nowhere to be found.

"Clary," he said, tossing me a red blob of cloth, "You're learning how to cook today." I opened up the red blob and realized it was an apron.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea..." I said, rolling the thin cloth between my fingers.

"Yeah, Clary kind of burns water." Simon said, taking a seat at one of the bar stools in front of the kitchen.

Alec smiled wryly, "That's why she's learning. She won't always be able to go out, if Jace and I aren't home you've got to make something yourself."

I made my way over to the kitchen cautiously and looked around at the untensils I had no idea what to call.

"We're making chicken kabobs with peanut sauce." said Alec, pulling lots of ingredients out of the fridge.

"Um... Okay..." I said, watching as Alec made himself busy around the kitchen, "Did you, uh, want me to do anything?"

"Yeah, take the chicken out of the freezer and thaw it. " I nodded and walked over to the freezer, and grabbed the chicken placing it on the counter.

"Cool. Now what?" I asked, getting slightly more comfortable with the idea of cooking.

Alec and I must have gone through a hundred ways to cut a peanut. Then, cooking chicken, to Alec it was an art. But I had to say, he did it exceedingly. Then I learned the names of 13 spices that I'd probably never use. Finally, he showed me where to put everything back after I was done. Simon made many snide remarks, that Alec frequently snorted at. Maybe I was right, maybe they were BFF's.

"How come we made so much?" I asked, staring at the mass of chicken in front of me.

Alec chuckled, "Have you seen how much chicken Jace eats? Let me rephrase that, have you seen how much Jace eats?" I laughed, as Alec poured the peanut sauce from a big pan to a bowl.

"That... was kind of cool." I said, smiling at Alec as he prepared the plates. He didn't return it, and I wasn't actually that disapointed. After a while that was what you expected.

"Yeah, I'm glad you think so. Because this is survival for you at the moment." Alec said, slipping off his apron and putting the chicken on a larger plate and bringing it out to the table. I hopped of the counter, washed my hands, and pulled off my apron.

The sound of the door opening, made my head turn. The sound of a door opening made Alec pull out his gun.

"You keep a gun concealed while your cooking?" Simon asked incredulously, "Thats kind of badass..."

It was Jace, he walked inside and plopped himself down at the kitchen.

"What's for dinner?" he asked, without a single explanation of where he'd been. Alec didn't seem to mind.

"Chicken with peanut sauce." Alec said, taking a seat across from Jace.

"Delicious, did you make or did the ginger?" Jace asked, loading a hunk of chicken on his plate. My hand flew subconciously to my head.

"Both." Alec said, following Jace's lead and piling a excessive amount of chicken on his plate.

Simon sat down, unsure of what to say. I sat down next to him. We both watched Jace and Alec's eyes meet, and hold for a long time. Jace didn't pause cutting his chicken and Alec didn't pause spreading his peanut sauce.

"What are they doing?" Simon whispered to me,

"Mind speaking." I said, disapointed that Simon and I couldn't do this.

"What the hell?" Simon said, giving me a quizzical look.

"I don't know." I said, shaking my head and digging into my chicken.

After dinner, which included a lot of Simon and I talking out loud and Jace and Alec talking in their minds, we all headed off to bed. I was halfway down the hall, when I said Jace, on the floor with his head tucked in his knee's.

"Jace?" I asked, looking worriedly at the golden haired boy in front of me.

"Go away Clare bear I'm not in the mood." said Jace in a harsh, mocking tone.

"In the mood for what, exactly?" I asked popping my hip out.

"You're naivitey." said Jace, leaning his head back so it touched the wall.

"I'm not naive!" I said, indignantly. Jace snorted.

"You know why I'm here, Mr. Wayland? Because I witnessed a freaking murder! Do you know how much that changes a person? Especially if it was someone you knew. And I know it doesn't affect you that much because in your profession people die all the time but for a normal person it can rock their whole world." I said, angrily.

"You can't even drop the F bomb. That speech deserved a couple F bombs in the middle." Jace said, ignoring every word of what I said.

"You wanna hear the F bomb? What is your fucking problem?" I asked, and stalked angrily back to my room.

I had no patience for someone that bipolar...

**Yeahh... The ending kind of sucked. Sorry. But, at least the story's back on!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for my inconsistent updates. I'm a terrible person. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mortal Instruments.**

Clary's POV

I stormed into my room and slammed the door behind me. I fell onto my bed and let out a loud scream into my pillow. It was an amazing kind of therapy. I did it several more times until I heard a soft knock on my door.

"Clary? It's me." I heard Alec's voice resonate from the other end of the door. The sound surprised me, I had been expecting someone like Simon.

I pulled my face out from the pillow and opened the door, Alec stood in the door way, awkwardly staring at his feet. "May I, uh, come in?" he asked hesitantly. I nodded in response. Alec stepped inside the room and I closed the door behind him.

"What can I help you with?" I asked, plopping down on the bed. I was in a considerably better mood, the screaming DEFINITELY helped.

"No, actually it's what I can help you with. Jace." He said, his tone becoming confident instead of wavering and unsure.

"Oh," I said, letting out a small sigh of annoyance, "Him."

"He doesn't hate you." Alec said abruptly, "He really doesn't, actually he rather likes you I think. He's just… well, torn."

I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion, "Torn? I don't follow."

"I am one of the only people he's ever let close to him. It's the way he was raised, not trusting anyone. With you, he wants so badly to trust you, but he can't. He's fighting against himself and it's driving him insane." Alec explained.

I let this sink in for a moment. It made sense, when I thought about it. Every time Jace and I would start to form some kind of connection he'd shove me away and hold me at arm's length.

"I see." I said simply.

"Yeah. Give him time, that's really what he needs. A couple weeks and this phase will be over. He can only fight himself for so long, even he's not that strong." Alec said, with a small chuckle.

"You really get him, don't you?" I said, admiring the connection they had. It was obviously deep and meaningful.

"Somebody has too." Alec said, reaching for the doorknob.

After he left, I realized I enjoyed his company. When he wasn't being down and depressing the boy was actually kind of nice to talk to. There was still something slightly off about him though. The door opening again broke my thought process.

"Clary?" This time it was Simon. He poked his dark colored head through the doorway.

"Are you okay?" he asked, walking in the room.

"Yeah, Just.. been a bit of a long day for me." I said, offering him a reassuring smile.

"Right, I just thought I heard muffled screaming coming from here and came to investigate." Simon said, he began rubbing small circles on my upper back which was quite relaxing.

"There are some people, Clary, that just aren't worth your time." He said quietly. I knew he was talking about Jace, and I couldn't respond to that. I did like Jace, and I wanted very badly for us to be friends… And I admit I'd thought about him as a more-than-friend but I ruled him off limits due to his 'protecting me' duties.

"I know, you're right." I said, having no intention of not giving Jace my time.

"I'm always right. But you don't always act on it. You know I'm right, but you still do the wrong thing." This boy knew me WAY too well.

"Right again, Lewis. I can't help it. He's kind of, you know, fun!" I said, trying not to let Simon know I was mildly attracted to him.

"And you think he's really hot." Too late.

"Simon!" I said whacking him with a pillow.

"Hey, you know it's true. I know it's true. He knows it's true. He thinks you're hot to though. So you're not alone." Simon said with a shoulder shrug.

"How do you know he thinks I'm hot?" I asked timidly.

"Just the way he looks at you. Like you're the most decadent cake in the bakery window." He said, I giggled at his lame metaphor.

"So… What you're saying is Jace wants to eat me?" I asked, with my eyebrows raised.

"In a sense of the word, yes." Simon said, shrugging lightly. We both laughed, and when it died down into chuckles he spoke again, "You should go talk to him. Now that you've calmed down. You need to make nice sooner rather than later of you want to make nice at all."

"Thanks. I have no idea what I'm going to do without you." I said, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.

"You'll manage. You'll call me every day." Simon said, gently pulling away from the hug. I threw him one last grateful smile and walked out the door and down the hall to Jace's room. I took a deep breath and pulled open the door.

Jace was lying down on his bed, face up. Noise cancellation headphones were wrapped around his untidy blonde head. I vaguely wondered what music he was into, then brushed the thought away for later.

I wasn't going to try and yell at him, that would be stupid. I walked over to the edge of his bed and peered down at him. He looked back up at me with those extraordinarily golden eyes. I made the peace sign, to show I wasn't here to yell at him. He smiled lightly at the lame gesture and pulled off his head phones.

"I'm sorry."

The first words out of my mouth were an apology. I grimaced, feeling as if he was the one who should be apologizing, but I was going to be the bigger person.

"I overreacted to what you said and my temper got the best of me. Again, I really am sorry." I said. He watched me curiously, then cleared his throat.

"Apology accepted, now make me a sammich." His face broke into a smile and I laughed a little, punching him lightly on the arm.

"In you're dreams, Wayland." I said, grinning back at him.

"I would hardly waste a dream about you on sandwiches." Jace said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Jace!" I said, punching him a little harder on the arm.

"Just kidding. I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have said what I said. It's just been a long day." He said with a small shrug.

"Am I hearing right? Did Jace Wayland just apologize to me?" I teased, grinning at Jace.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't push your luck." Jace said, chuckling lightly.

"I better head to bed. See you in the morning?" I asked, getting up and walking to the door frame. I turned around to hear his answer.

"G'night. Turn off the light on your way out." Jace said, slipping his headphones back on his ears. I smiled at the sight, then flipped the light switch and headed to bed.

Okay, so maybe I was a little more than mildly attracted to him.

**Hope you loved it! Next chapter will be up sooner than later, hopefully! Keep reading! And review. I love reviews.**

**-Jazzerific**


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